


lonely planet

by jellustration



Series: Lovely Planet [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Illustrations, M/M, One-Sided Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 20:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7728313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellustration/pseuds/jellustration
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caes bothers Ben and thinks about what happens next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	lonely planet

**Author's Note:**

> Previous events mentioned in this scene will be vague, but I hope that can be ignored for now.  
> His name is pronounced 'seez' like 'the seven seas' or 'seize the day'. I always get it wrong in my head but I'm the one who named him.

Caes stepped around the other boy on socked feet, delicately finding his footing on the soft mattress. Reaching around the sleeping figure, he pulled the tangled comforter over, gathered the nearest end, lifted his feet to stay over it, and tucked it back in place. It looked like a blanket of snow in the dim lighting, his footprints interrupting the surface.

 

Caes flopped down with the intent to wake Ben up. Out of habit, he lay his head close to Ben's face. He could see a closed eyelid and lashes against the outline of a cheek, strands of hair brushing his forehead. The blanket lifted in time with his breathing.

 

"Ben."

 

A huff of air was the response.

 

It was an interesting day, meeting his father's old acquaintance and reuniting this boy with his sister. He hid it well, but he was still tense, not expecting the reaction of a family reunion to be so poisonous. Especially from someone who was supposed to be his age.

 

He wondered how Ben was doing. Time passed for him differently, and this would've been a lot to handle in a day. His father's friend lent Ben this room and he passed out immediately. Caes sneaked back after he talked with her, a terse, almost one-sided conversation about what they would do from now on.

 

He didn't have a home to go back to. He could contact his mother, but he'd have to explain everything that had been going on the past three years. That would be difficult, considering the circumstances. He'd do it eventually.

 

Ben stirred at his side. His eyes were open now, glaring at him.

"Go away." His voice was soft. Everything about this boy was soft, all except his eyes.

 

"Just looking out for you. You would have froze in your sleep."

 

"I would have been fine."

 

Caes chuckled. After all Ben had been through, he seemed to think he was invincible. Under his vulnerable appearance was a steel shell, and Caes had a fleeting thought that, perhaps, he had always been like this.

 

"Does your sister hate us?"

 

Ben, having nowhere else to look away, looked down at the darkened space between himself and the sheet.

 

"I don't... think so. I don't know." His sister was an anomaly to the both of them.

 

Sensing he was treading on a bad topic, he thought of something else. It was warm between their shared body heat, even through the comforter, something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He thought of his own sisters, in his mother country, so long ago it could have been a fairy tale.

 

"Maybe I should stay here," Caes said carefully, "just for today."

 

Ben looked at him again. Caes loved how Ben looked at him. Cold, without judgement, figuring the weight of his words and the importance of offhanded remarks. It thrilled him. These were eyes that would not lie to him.

 

But Ben would not smile or show sadness either. Often irritation, and that was the best Caes could pull from him. He couldn't tell how the younger boy was feeling, if he was feeling at all. It made Caes feel an unreasonable helplessness around him, and a desire to create friction between them. He almost envied Ben's sister, who was able to throw him in disarray.

 

"No, you don't need to." Ben closed his eyes and effectively shut himself away without moving an inch.

 

Caes felt like he'd been kicked. He knew there wasn't anything he could do, but the easy rejection just made the fact more tangible.

 

He lay there a moment longer, staring at the boy's face. Another habit. When Ben wasn't aware, he'd find himself looking longer than necessary. He resisted a little urge to stroke Ben's cheek.

 

"Ah," Caes said, mostly to himself. "You didn't say I had to. Um, leave."

 

Ben opened his eyes to glare at him again. Caes felt giddy with relief and gave him a lopsided grin. It was scoffed at right away.

"You don't need to stay," Ben restated in his soft voice.

 

"Okay. Gotcha."

 

Ben quirked his eyebrows at him. Caes continued to glow, already sure he had won. They continued like this for a moment until Ben visibly gave in and accepted the arrangement.

 

Caes watched Ben's eyes soften and slowly shut again.

 

He supposed he could stay here until he got cold. The comforter was still warm and Ben radiated heat while he slept. It was nice. His eyes started to droop and he tilted his head closer to Ben's. Or maybe he could wake up early and sneak back. He didn't want to lose points with Ben's sister before he even got to know her.

 

Caes hoped he could stay with Ben for as long as he wanted. He didn't know what Ben thought of him, if he hated or tolerated him, but he hoped they could stay together. He'd never even imagined the possibilities, what the future may be like, until he met this boy. He was never given the chance. The murky idea of the future was soft and warm and terrifying, but maybe, maybe with Ben he could handle it.

 

If Ben would let him, he wouldn't think of going anywhere else.


End file.
